Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who has been all over the news for his dramatic airplane exit this week, was charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing on Tuesday.

On a plane arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Monday, Slater cursed at passengers over the intercom system and then, with beers in hand, deployed an emergency exit slide and fled the plane.

According to the Port Authority, the trouble began when Slater got into an argument with a female passenger who refused to apologize for hitting him in the head while pulling baggage down from an overhead bin.

Another passenger Phil Catelinet wrote on his blog that Slater said over the intercom: "To the passenger who just called me a motherf-----: f--- you. I've been in this business 28 years, and I've had it."

Slater's Legal Aid lawyer, Howard Turman, told CNN, “He was trying to do his best in providing safety and you have rudeness and lack of courtesy among the traveling public...The woman was outraged and cursed him out a great deal. At that point, I think, he just wanted to avoid conflict with her.”

A Facebook fan page site dedicated to Slater already has more than 100,000 fans, according to ABC News. Upon his release from jail on Tuesday, Slater told WABC he has received an outpouring of support since the incident. "It seems like something here has resonated with a few people and that's kind of neat," he said.